Tuesday, February 28, 2017

According to a legal notice, in February 1958, John Paul Jones was petitioning the Hendricks County Circuit Court to change his name to Robert B. Jones. The petition was to be heard in court on March 29, 1958.

Monday, February 27, 2017

According to an article, in November 1955 the Danville town council approved a request for a variance in the zoning ordinance, so that the Golden Rule Nursing Home could be opened at 147 South Wayne Street. The property was at that time owned by James S. Waddell and was formerly the Thad Adams house. Registered nurses Mrs. Martha Mullin of Lebanon and Mrs. June Cash of Lizton would be in charge of establishing the nursing home. It was to be for the elderly and convalescent - no children or mental patients would be admitted. It was licensed to take care of 25 patients.

NOTE: A December 8, 1955 article said it was slated to open by January 1956. Mrs. Vannie Leak of Lizton, mother of Mrs. June Cash, helped purchase the property. Martha Mullin was listed as a graduate of the St. Joseph Hospital in St. Paul, Minnesota, with a Bachelor of Science in nursing, and a former nursing school instructor. June Cash was listed as a graduate of General Hospital in Indianapolis.

Sunday, February 26, 2017

An index of the students in grades 9 through 12 at North Salem High School in 1953 has been added to the school records section of the Hendricks County GenWeb site. This index was compiled from the North Salem High School 1953 yearbook, Echoes 1953. This yearbook is in the collection of the Danville library.

Thursday, February 23, 2017

According to a legal notice, in March 1982 Kevin Ray Mann filed a petition in the Hendricks County Superior Court (case # A 82-4) to adopt Christopher Andrew Brumley, a minor. His biological parent, Orie L. Brumley, was listed as having abandoned him and his whereabouts were unknown. The case was scheduled to be heard in court 30 days after the legal notice was published.

Wednesday, February 22, 2017

An index of the Hendricks County estate cases that had legal notices published in Hendricks County newspapers has been updated to include notices from The Friday Caller (Plainfield) for 1947 and 1948. This index is in the probate records section of the Hendricks County GenWeb site.

This index now includes these Hendricks County newspapers:

Coatesville Herald - 1945 through 1955

Danville Gazette - 1945 through 1984

The Republican (Danville) - 1945 through 1984

The Friday Caller (Plainfield) - 1945 through 1948

This index currently covers 1945-1984; more newspapers and more years will be added later.

This may not be a comprehensive list of all of the Hendricks County estate cases for this time period; legal notices could be filed in any newspaper in the county.

Tuesday, February 21, 2017

When Danville got direct-dial telephone service in November 1954, it resulted in a change in how the members of Danville's volunteer fire department responded to a fire. Previously, the public would notify the telephone operator that there was a fire, and then the fire siren on top of the telephone building would be sounded, alerting the firefighters wherever they were to respond.

In February 1955, the Danville Town Council authorized the purchase of 15 crystal-controlled radio receivers (at a total cost of $2,746), which would then be placed in the homes or businesses of the firefighters. The radios would be activated by the operator at the police station, who would then announce the location of the fire over the radio, and would also simultaneously press the button to activate the town's fire alarm. Danville was reportedly the only volunteer fire department in the state that would have a radio alerting system, although other large cities in Indiana (as well as the entire state of Delaware) were already using this system.

The radios replaced a system that (according to a November 11, 1954 article) had been used directly after the switch to the direct-dial phone system. Under that plan, the public was to call SH 5-4567. This would then cause the phones in 10 of the firefighters' homes to ring simultaneously. This system was known as a conference circuit, and cost $900 a year. However, the town council quickly found it to be "costly, inadequate and unsatisfactory."

Monday, February 20, 2017

According to a legal notice, in August 1956 there was a petition filed by Charles Edwin Wills in the Hendricks County Circuit Court (case #171) to adopt Thomas Udell Ison, II, a minor. His biological father, Thomas Udell Ison, I, was listed as not being a resident of Indiana and his whereabouts were unknown. The case was scheduled to be heard in court on October 6, 1956.

Sunday, February 19, 2017

An index of the students in grades 9 through 12 at Danville High School in 1925 has been added to the school records section of the Hendricks County GenWeb site. This index was compiled from the Danville High School 1925 yearbook, Chaos. This yearbook is in the collection of the Plainfield library.

Saturday, February 18, 2017

According to a newspaper article, Danville had a special census taken in August 1957, which showed there were 3,213 people living within town limits, up 15% from the 2,802 people as of the 1950 federal census.

Thursday, February 16, 2017

According to a legal notice, in September 1957 there was a petition filed by Harry Hoop, Jr. in the Hendricks County Circuit Court (case #198) to adopt minors Chester Clyde Ostling, Richard Allen Ostling and Evelyn Delores Ostling. Their biological mother, Delores Irene (Ostling) Hoop, was listed as residing at Rural Route No. 2, Box 119 in Clayton; their biological father, Chester Raymond Ostling, was listed as whereabouts unknown. The case was scheduled to be heard in court on November 18, 1957.

Wednesday, February 15, 2017

An index of the Hendricks County estate cases that had legal notices published in Hendricks County newspapers has been updated to include notices from the Coatesville Herald for 1954 and 1955. This index is in the probate records section of the Hendricks County GenWeb site.

This index now includes these Hendricks County newspapers:

Coatesville Herald - 1945 through 1955

Danville Gazette - 1945 through 1984

The Republican (Danville) - 1945 through 1984

The Friday Caller (Plainfield) - 1945 through 1946

This index currently covers 1945-1984; more newspapers and more years will be added later.

This may not be a comprehensive list of all the Hendricks County estate cases for this time period; legal notices could be filed in any newspaper in the county.

Tuesday, February 14, 2017

According to a September 1954 article, a new high school building was dedicated at North Salem on Sunday, September 26, 1954. It was one story, cost $315,000 and was adjacent to the grade school. It was made possible by the formation of the Eel River Township School Building Corporation. Walter H. Page was president of the corporation's board of directors.

Monday, February 13, 2017

The Family History Hounds genealogy group will meet on Thursday, March 2 from 1 to 3 pm at the Plainfield-Guilford Township Public Library. The meeting will be held upstairs in the library's meeting rooms. Meredith Thompson will present a program about digitized books that are freely available on Google Books and Internet Archive.

If you are interested in the group, or have questions, please contact Plainfield library's Indiana Room - e-mail askindiana@plainfieldlibrary.net or phone (317) 839-6602 extension 2114.

Sunday, February 12, 2017

An index of inventories filed in Hendricks County estate cases and guardianship cases for February 1917 through October 1920 has been added to the Probate Records section of the Hendricks County GenWeb site. These inventories list all of the debts and assets in the case.

This is an index of a record book that has been digitized by the Hendricks County government - it is available in the Archives section of their website.

Thursday, February 9, 2017

TWIN SISTERS REUNITED AFTER 33 YEAR SEPARATION
Mrs. Ruth Stanley of Indianapolis and Mrs. Pearl Coshaw of Aurora, Illinois, 66-year-old twin sisters who met in Indianapolis Saturday after not having seen each other for 33 years, are natives of Hadley, southwest of Danville.

The twin girls were the daughters of Mr. and Mrs. Murphy T. Cates of Hadley. After the mother died when the twins were two weeks old, both babies were taken into the home of Mr. and Mrs. V.R. Stevenson for five months. Ruth remained in the Stevenson home and was reared by them, and Pearl was taken into the Mordecai Hadley home, where she was reared.

Both of the twins grew up in the Hadley community. Following the marriage of Pearl she became a resident of Illinois. Ruth resided in Plainfield after her marriage and lived there until moving to Indianapolis.

NOTE: According to Ruth's 1906 marriage application, her parents were Murphy Cates and Katherine Alexander.

Wednesday, February 8, 2017

An index of the Hendricks County estate cases that had legal notices published in Hendricks County newspapers has been updated to include notices from The Friday Caller (Plainfield) for 1945 and 1946. This index is in the probate records section of the Hendricks County GenWeb site.

This index now includes these Hendricks County newspapers:

Coatesville Herald - 1945 through 1953

Danville Gazette - 1945 through 1984

The Republican (Danville) - 1945 through 1984

The Friday Caller (Plainfield) - 1945 through 1946

This index currently covers 1945-1984; more newspapers and more years will be added later.

This may not be a comprehensive list of all the Hendricks County estate cases for this time period; legal notices could be filed in any newspaper in the county.

Tuesday, February 7, 2017

Malcomb E. McDONALD, 48, 410 Maple Court, Crawfordsville died at 3:00 a.m. Tuesday at Culver Hospital of a heart ailment. Mr. McDonald was born at Grays, Kentucky March 6, 1906 and married Rachel Dozier at Jamestown, Indiana in August 1924. He moved to Waveland seven years ago, recently moving so the intersection of highway and 234 from which place he moved to his last residence in Crawfordsville. Previously he was employed at the Prestolight Plant at Indianapolis, and at the time of his death he was an organizer for a labor union. Surviving are the widow: 3 daughters; Mrs. Harry Hays; Mrs. John F. Kenny, Jr. Joliet, Ill; and Mrs. Robert Oswalt Waveland; twin sons Marvin and Melvin; 7 grandchildren 3 brothers, Cecil of Louisville, Kentucky; Henry of Detroit, Michigan; and Alvin of Corbin, Kentucky and a sister, Mrs. John Miracle of Colorado Springs, Co. Funeral services were held at the Machledt Funeral Home on Thursday at 1:30 p.m. with Rev. Grover C. DeNeal in charge. Burial at North Salem.

Monday, February 6, 2017

According to a legal notice, in June 1954, Geraldine Steinbarger was petitioning the Hendricks County Circuit Court to change her name to Geraldine Sieb. The petition was to be heard in court in September 1954.

Sunday, February 5, 2017

An index of the Lizton students in grades 1 through 6 in 1969 has been added to the school records section of the Hendricks County GenWeb site. This index was compiled from the North Salem High School 1969 yearbook, Echo. This yearbook is in the collection of the Danville library.

Saturday, February 4, 2017

According to a newspaper article, in January 1952 the Danville Town Council authorized the purchase of its first police car, so that its "watchman service" could take its first steps into becoming an actual police department. Their 2 current watchmen - Dean Stevens and Oral Swain - would then share the use of the car. The car was to be fitted with a siren. According to a February 21, 1952 article, the car they purchased was a black Studebaker. Its roof had to be fitted with steel bows to help bear the weight of the siren.

As to how the public could contact the police when they were needed, one idea being considered by both the county commissioners and the Danville town council was to invest in a radio tower. A radio antenna would be installed on top of the police car, with remote points at the county sheriff's office in the courthouse and at the county jail.

Another idea that was under consideration involved the public calling the operator. The operator would then switch on a special light on top of the telephone building, and would also call the Hoosier Hotel and notify them to turn on the special light on top of their building. This would be a signal to the police to get to the nearest phone and get in touch with the operator for the message about where they were needed. This method was to be a replacement for the current method, in which the county sheriff fielded all phone calls from the public.

Friday, February 3, 2017

According to a newspaper article, on Sunday March 31, 1946 Brownsburg Airport would hold its grand opening. It was to be operated by Loy Field, Plainfield Airport, Inc. The manager of the field was William Hylton; the publicity director was H.A. Holley and the instructors were William Hylton, H.L. Stark and Ross Truax.

Among the activities planned for the grand opening of Brownsburg Airport was a "spot landing contest" by pilots from other airports. A $100 bill would be placed on the field in a white circle, and a pilot would have to make a normal 180-degree approach with no power. The pilot who landed their plane with one wheel in the white circle would win the $100 bill.

NOTE: Brownsburg Airport no longer exists - it was located on County Road 400 North (known as Airport Road), about half a mile east of State Road 267, just north of where Brownsburg Community School and White Lick Elementary School are today. Brownsburg Airport is not to be confused with Speedway Airport, which was located on the east side of County Road 900 East (also known as Airport Road or Griswold Road), about half a mile north of County Road 200 North.

Wednesday, February 1, 2017

According to a newspaper article, beginning in the fall of 1945 all those entering first grade in Hendricks County schools must first show their birth certificates, as proof that they are at least 6 years old. This was because "most of the schools are badly overcrowded" and they could not accept any more children before the minimum age of 6 years old. This decision was made by the Hendricks County board of education, which was comprised of all of the township trustees.

An index of the Hendricks County estate cases that had legal notices published in Hendricks County newspapers has been updated to include notices from the Coatesville Herald for 1945, 1946 and 1947. This index is in the probate records section of the Hendricks County GenWeb site.

This index now includes these Hendricks County newspapers:

Coatesville Herald - 1945 through 1953

Danville Gazette - 1945 through 1984

The Republican (Danville) - 1945 through 1984

This index currently covers 1945-1984; more newspapers and more years will be added later.

This may not be a comprehensive list of all the Hendricks County estate cases for this time period; legal notices could be filed in any newspaper in the county.